WHO  SHALL  INHERIT  LONG  LIFE? 

✓ 


By  DR.  ALEXANDER  GRAHAM  BELL 


Reprinted  from  the  NATIONAL  GEOGRAPHIC  MAGAZINE,  June,  1919 
Copyright,  1919,  by  the  National  Geographic  Society 


WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

PRESS  OF  JUDD  & DETWEILER,  INC. 

1919 


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WHO  SHALL  INHERIT  LONG  LIFE? 


On  the  Existence  of  a Natural  Process  at  Work  Among 
Human  Beings  Tending  to  Improve  the  Vigor 
and  Vitality  of  Succeeding  Generations 

By  Dr.  Alexander  Graham  Bell 

Author,  in  the  National  Geographic  Magazine,  oe  “Prizes  for  the  Inventor,”  “Discovery  and 
Invention,”  “Our  Heterogeneous  System  of  Weights  and  Measures,”  “Aerial  Locomo- 
tion,” and  “A  Few  Thoughts  Concerning  Eugenics” 


MOST  people  die  before  reaching 
middle  life,  and  comparatively 
few  live  to  be  old. 

This  has  always  been  so  from  the  very 
earliest  times ; and,  in  spite  of  modern 
sanitation  and  the  advance  of  medical  sci- 
ence, remains  true  today.  Only  a small 
proportion  of  each  generation  survives 
the  traditional  Biblical  age  of  threescore 
years  and  ten. 

Under  these  circumstances  is  it  not  re- 
markable that  so  many  people  should  have 
parents  who  lived  to  be  old?  Seventy  is 
by  no  means  an  unusual  age  for  a parent. 
Examine  the  history  of  the  people  you 
know  and  you  will  find  that  very  few  of 
them  had  parents  who  died  before  sev- 
enty, while  a considerable  proportion  had 
parents  who  lived  to  be  eighty  or  even 
much  older. 

An  examination  of  several  hundred 
cases,  noted  in  the  Genealogy  of  the  Hyde 
family1,  shows  that  18.7  per  cent  of  these 
persons  lived  to  be  seventy  or  older ; but 
81.7  per  cent  had  fathers  or  mothers  who 
lived  beyond  seventy.  About  13  per  cent 
lived  to  seventy-five ; but  65  per  cent,  or 
nearly  two-thirds  of  the  whole,  had 
fathers  or  mothers  who  lived  beyond  sev- 
enty-five. 

The  contrast  is  still  more  marked  when 
we  consider  persons  who  lived  to  extreme 
old  age.  Only  8.7  per  cent  lived  to  be 
eighty  or  older;  and  yet  48.1  per  cent, 
nearly  one-half  of  the  whole,  had  fathers 
or  mothers  who  lived  to  be  eighty  or 
older. 

1 Genealogy  of  the  Hyde  Family,  by  Reuben 
H.  Walworth,  LL.  D.,  1864;  a work  relating  to 
the  descendants  of  William  Hyde,  one  of  the 
early  settlers  of  Norwich,  Conn.,  who  died  in 

1681. 


These  are  the  results  of  an  investiga- 
tion of  1,594  cases  in  which  the  ages  at 
death  of  the  persons  and  of  their  fathers 
and  mothers  were  all  known.2 

Such  results  seem  to  point  to  the  gen- 
eral conclusion  that  a very  large  propor- 
tion of  each  generation  has  sprung  from 
a very  small  proportion  of  the  preceding 
generation,  namely , from  the  people  who 
lived  to  be  old. 

Another  inference  is  that  the  long-lived 
people  left  more  descendants  behind  them 
in  proportion  to  their  numbers  than  the 
others,  and  therefore,  on  the  average,  had 
larger  families. 

Of  course,  many  widowers  may  have 
married  again  when  they  were  well  ad- 
vanced in  years  and  have  had  families  by 
each  marriage,  but  this  explanation  does 
not  apply  to  women. 

mothers’  ages  an  index  to  the  size  of 

THEIR  FAMILIES 

We  cannot,  for  example,  suppose  that 
mothers  who  died  at  fifty  would  have  had 
more  children  had  they  lived  to  be  sixty 
or  eighty  or  a hundred ; and  yet  investi- 
gation shows  that  the  mothers  who  lived 
to  extreme  old  age  actually  had,  on  the 
average,  larger  families  than  those  who 
died  earlier  in  life. 

From  the  Hyde  statistics  we  find  that 
mothers  who  died  before  forty  had,  on 
the  average,  only  3.4  children  apiece ; and 
this  is  intelligible  because  many  of  the 
mothers  passed  away  long  before  the  con- 
clusion of  the  reproductive  period,  and 

2 See  “The  Duration  of  Life  and  Conditions 
Associated  with  Longevity,  A Study  of  the 
Hyde  Genealogy,”  by  Alexander  Graham  Bell ; 
published  by  the  Genealogical  Record  Office, 
1601  35th  Street,  Washington,  D.  C.  $1.00. 


505 


A NEW  YORK  STATE  FAMILY  OE  SIXTEEN 

It  is  the  pride  of  Horseheads,  N.  Y.,  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Oliver  D.  Eisenhart  have  fourteen 
children  ranging  from  one  to  twenty-four  years  of  age.  Thirteen  are  shown  in  the  picture, 
which  was  taken  before  the  eldest  son  went  to  France,  more  than  two  years  ago,  as  a member 
of  the  American  Ambulance  Corps. 


Photograph  by  Gilbert  Grosvenor 

NINE  SONS  HAVE  BEEN  CONTRIBUTED  TO  THE  WORLD’S  POPULATION  BY  MR.  AND 
MRS.  MORRISON,  OE  ST.  ANN’S,  CAPE  BRETON,  NOVA  SCOTIA 

“The  persons  whose  parents  both  died  before  sixty  lived,  on  the  average,  32.8  years  (the 
Hyde  Genealogy).  Those  whose  parents  both  lived  beyond  eighty  averaged  52.7  years;  and 
where  the  parents  died  at  the  intermediate  age  periods  the  duration  of  life  was  intermediate.” 


506 


Photograph  by  Corey,  supplied  by  Louise  Lacey,  Secretary  of  the  Genealogical  Record  Office 
ELISHA  CLARK  PECKHAM,  AGED  92,  MIDDLETOWN,  R.  I.,  WITH  MRS.  PECKHAM  AND 
THEIR  ELEVEN  CHILDREN.  ONE  CHILD  DIED  AT  THE  AGE  OE  TEN  YEARS 

The  children  of  long-lived  parents  are,  on  the  average,  stronger,  more  vigorous,  and  longer- 
lived  than  the  children  of  others,  and  there  are  more  of  them  per  family. 


TLIE  CENTENARIAN  CLUB  OE  LOS  ANGELES,  CALIEORNIA,  WHOSE  MOTTO  IS,  “LIVE  A 
HUNDRED  YEARS  AND  GROW  OLD  GRACEEULLy” 

Left  to  right,  standing:  Dr.  J.  M.  Morrison,  Vice-President,  97;  Rev.  H.  Judd,  91;  Rev. 
N.  A.  Millerd,  90;  A.  A.  Annas,  96;  Dr.  H.  L.  Canfield,  90;  C.  R.  Post,  92;  J.  H.  F.  Jarchow, 
Senator  C.  C.  Cole,  94.  Left  to  right,  sitting : Dr.  A.  M.  Sherman,  92 ; Dr.  J.  M.  Peebles, 

S.  Selleck,  94;  Dr.  E.  C.  Prugh,  95;  Mrs.  M.  K.  Bartlett,  92;  Mrs.  J.  F.  Howard,  92;  Mrs. 
Offenbach,  90;  Mrs.  Stevens,  94;  Rev.  S.  H.  Taft,  President,  92.  Mrs.  Taft  in  rear. 


507 


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WHO  SHALL  INHERIT  LONG  LIFE? 


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might  have  had  more 
children  had  they 
lived  longer. 

Mothers  who  died 
between  forty  and 
sixtv  had  6.2  children 
ap:  e,  and  we  would 
naturally  expect  that 
no  further  increase  in 
the  size  of  the  family 
would  be  found  in  the 
case  of  mothers  who 
died  at  later  ages. 

But,  as  a matter  of 
fact,  the  mothers  who 
died  between  sixty 
and  eighty  averaged 
6.6  children  apiece, 
and  the  mothers  who 
lived  beyond  eighty 
had  average  families 
of  7.2  children.1 

When  we  remember 
that  in  all  these  cases 
the  children  were  born 
before  the  mothers 
had  passed  middle  life, 
it  becomes  obvious 
that  the  mothers  who 
reached  old  age  were 
inherently  more  fer- 
tile than  the  others. 

There  is  thus  some 
correlation  between 
longevity  and  fecun- 
dity. The  parents  who 
lived  the  longest  had 
the  most  children,  on 
the  average. 

But  how  about  the 
children  ? Did  they, 
too,  live  longer  than 
the  others?  Yes,  upon  the  average,  they 
did. 

The  average  duration  of  life  of  the 
B594  persons  referred  to  above  was  40.6 
years.  Their  fathers,  on  the  average, 
lived  70.9  years,  and  their  mothers  66.0 
years.  Thus  the  fathers  and  mothers,  on 
the  average,  lived  longer  than  their  chil- 
dren. This  is  always  found  to  be  the  case 

1 See  “The  Duration  of  Life,”  etc.,  by  Alex- 
ander Graham  Bell.  Table  17,  relating  to  671 
fertile  marriages  of  females  resulting  in  the 
production  of  4,022  children,  or  6.0  children  per 
marriage. 


Photograph  by  Charles  Martin 

the:  oldest  human  being  oe  whose  birth  we  have 

AUTHENTIC  RECORD 

Mrs.  Ann  Pouder,  of  Baltimore,  Md.,  photographed  on  her  noth 
birthday,  in  the  summer  of  1917.  She  died  a few  months  later. 


when  we  deal  with  large  numbers 


and 


the  reason  is  very  obvious  ; for,  of  course, 
no  fathers  or  mothers  died  in  infancy  or 
childhood,  whereas  many  of  the  children 
died  young. 

longevity  is  an  inheritable 

CHARACTERISTIC 

Investigation  shows  that  a larger  pro- 
portion of  the  children  of  long-lived  par- 
ents lived  to  be  old  and  a smaller  propor- 
tion died  young  than  in  the  case  of  the 
others. 

The  Hyde  statistics  afford  conclusive 


510 


THE  NATIONAL  GEOGRAPHIC  MAGAZINE 


evidence  that  a tendency  to  longevity  is 
an  inheritable  characteristic.  For  ex- 
ample, divide  the  1,594  cases  into  three 
groups : 

1.  Those  whose  parents,  neither  of 
them,  lived  to  be  eighty. 

2.  Those  having  one  parent  who  lived 
to  be  eighty  or  older,  and 

3.  Those  having  parents  both  of  whom 
lived  to  be  eighty  or  older. 

Now  note  the  proportion  of  long-lived 
persons  in  each  group.  Only  about  5 per 
cent  of  the  persons  in  group  one  lived  to 
be  eighty;  about  to  per  cent  of  the  per- 
sons in  group  two,  and  20  per  cent  in 
group  three  (exact  percentages  5.3,  9.8. 
and  20.6).  Few  of  the  persons  who  did 
not  have  long-lived  parents  behind  them 
lived  to  be  old.  The  long-lived  propor- 
tion was  practically  doubled  where  one 
parent  lived  to  be  old  and  quadrupled 
where  both  parents  lived  to  be  old.  The 
evidence  indicates  that  heredity  is  deeply 
involved  in  the  production  of  longevity. 

If  we  divide  the  1,594  cases  into  groups 
arranged  according  to  the  ages  reached 
by  the  parents,  and  then  calculate  the 
average  duration  of  life  of  all  the  persons 
in  each  group,  not  simply  the  proportion 
who  lived  to  be  old,  we  find  that  the  per- 
sons constituting  the  longest-lived  group 
were  the  offspring  of  the  longest-lived 
parents,  the  members  of  the  shortest- 
lived  group  came  from  the  shortest-lived 
parents,  with  intermediates  intermediate. 


age  periods  the  duration  of  life  was  inter- 
mediate. 

The  figures  indicate  very  clearly  that 
there  is  a correlation  between  the  dura- 
tion of  life  of  the  individual  and  the 
duration  of  life  of  his  parents;  and,  con- 
versely, we  may  conclude  that  the  longest- 
lived  parents,  on  the  average,  had  the 
longest-lived  children  ; the  shortest-lived 
parents  the  shortest-lived  children ; with 
intermediates  intermediate. 

We  have  only  to  glance  around  us  at 
the  different  forms  of  ani^nal  life  to  find 
plentiful  indications  that  the  duration  of 
life  is  influenced,  and  indeed  controlled, 
by  heredity.  Each  species  has  its  own 
limit  of  life,  and  man  is  no  exception. 

The  contrasts  are  often  very  great: 
For  example,  a horse  born  the  same  day 
as  a child.(dies  of  old  age  before  the  child 
has  reached  full  maturity.  Just  think  of 
the  differences.  The  horse  may  become  a 
parent  when  the  child  is  only  a toddling 
three-year-old,  a grandparent  by  the  time 
the  child  is  six,  and  several  generations 
of  horses  may  appear  before  the  child  has 
even  reached  marriageable  age. 

The  duration  of  life  of  each  species  is 
controlled  and  limited  by  heredity,  and 
heredity  even  establishes  different  limits 
for  groups  of  animals  within  the  same 
species.  The  long-lived  tend  to  produce 
long-lived  offspring,  the  short-lived,  short- 
lived offspring,  etc. 

A million  people  may  be  born  on  the 


Number  of  Cases 
Mother’s  age  at  death 
-60  60-80  80+ 


131 

206 

184 

251 

328 

172 

128 

120 

74 

Average  Duration  of  Life 
Mother’s  age  at  death 
- 60  60-80  80  + 


42.3 

45.5 

! 

52.7  I 

35.8 

38.0 

45.0 

32.8 

33.4 

36.3  ! 

The  persons  whose  parents  both  died 
before  sixty  lived,  on  the  average,  32.8 
years.  Those  whose  parents  both  lived 
beyond  eighty  averaged  52.7  years ; and 
where  the  parents  died  at  the  intermediate 


same  day,  and  we  know  that  multitudes 
of  them  will  die  during  the  very  first  year 
of  life.  So  great  is  the  mortality  during 
infancy  and  childhood  that  we  may  be 
perfectly  certain  that  the  majority  of  the 


WHO  SHALL  INHERIT  LONG  LIFE? 


511 


Photograph  by  W.  T.  Oxley,  from  the  Collections  of  the  Genealogical  Record  Office 


five:  GENERATIONS  OF  WOMEN  IN  a MINNESOTA  HOUSEHOLD 

Mrs.  Karl  Melden  was  89;  her  daughter,  Mrs.  Anne  Kastell,  61 ; granddaughter,  Mrs.  Han- 
nah Gustafson,  41 ; great-granddaughter,  Mrs.  Ann  Bergernt,  21 ; and  great-great-grand- 
daughter,  Mary  Valdine,  aged  7 months,  when  this  photograph  was  taken.  Note  the  remark- 
able inheritance  in  similarity  of  the  eyes,  even  in  the  baby. 


people  will  have  passed  away  long  before 
the  lapse  of  fifty  years.  The  extreme 
limit  of  human  life  probably  does  not  ex- 
tend very  far  beyond  the  hundred-year 
mark,  and  only  very  few  live  to  be  even 
eighty  or  ninety. 

The  few  who  live  to  extreme  old  age 
are  people  who  have  proved  themselves  to 


be  immune,  or  at  least  resistant,  to  the 
diseases  that  have  carried  off  the  vast 
majority  of  their  fellows.  They  have 
been  exposed  to  all  the  diseases  and  acci- 
dents of  life  and  have  not  succumbed. 
They  have  proved  themselves  to  be  re- 
sistant, not  to  a single  disease  alone,  but 
to  all  diseases;  and  the  fact  that  they 


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THE  NATIONAL  GEOGRAPHIC  MAGAZINE 


transmit  to  their  offspring  a tendency  to 
live  long  shows  that  the  disease-resistant 
quality  is  handed  down  to  their  descend- 
ants. 

Of  course,  longevity  itself  is  not  a 
thing  that  is  capable  of  direct  inheritance  ; 
but  the  fact  that  longevity  seems  to  run 
in  families  shows  that  a tendency  to  long 
life  can  be  inherited.  It  is  not  longevity 
itself  that  is  transmitted,  but  something 
else  that  tends  to  produce  long  life.  What 
is  really  inherited  is  probably  a tough, 
wiry  constitution,  which  enables  the  for- 
tunate possessor  to  survive  the  multitu- 
dinous ills  that  flesh  is  heir  to  and  live 
on  to  the  extreme  limit  of  human  life. 
From  this  point  of  view,  the  attainment 
of  old  age  is  extremely  significant. 

The  people  who  live  to  be  old  represent 
the  disease-resistant  strain  of  their  gen- 
eration ; and,  on  account  of  their  superior 
fecundity,  this  disease-resistant  quality  is 
distributed  very  largely  through  the  pop- 
ulation. The  weak  and  delicate  do  not, 


as  a rule,  live  very  long ; nor  are  they  ca- 
pable of  bearing  large  families.  It  is  the 
strong  and  vigorous  who  live  to  extreme 
old  age  and  leave  many  descendants  be- 
hind them. 

The  children  of  long-lived  parents  are, 
on  the  average,  stronger,  more  vigorous, 
and  longer-lived  than  the  children  of 
others ; and  there  are  more  of  them  per 
family. 

Here,  then,  we  have  evidence  of  the 
existence  of  a natural  process  at  work 
among  human  beings  tending  to  improve 
the  vigor  and  vitality  of  succeeding  gen- 
erations.1 

1 The  Genealogical  Record  Office,  Alexander 
Graham  Bell,  Director,  1601  35th  Street,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C.,  will  be  glad  to  receive  informa- 
tion concerning  all  authentic  cases  of  persons 
now  living  who  are  more  than  90  years  of 
age.  The  data  should  include  the  date  of 
birth  of  the  individual,  the  age  at  which  his 
or  her  parents  died,  and  the  number  of  chil- 
dren and  ages  of  his  or  her  children  and 
direct  descendants. 


i 


* 


> 


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